THE LIGHT AND THE DARKNESS

THE LIGHT AND THE DARKNESSCopyright Š 2012 Robert B. Thompson. All Rights Reserved

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright Š 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (Isaiah 60:1-3)

"Light" reveals God, His will, His way, and His eternal purpose in Jesus Christ. Light guides us to eternal righteousness, love, joy, and peace.

"Darkness" tells lies about God, His will, His way, and His eternal purpose in Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the only true Light from God.

Satan is a lie, darkness, death, hatred, misery, and unrest.

An oracle concerning Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again." (Isaiah 21:11,12)

The morning of the Day of the Lord is approaching. But also the greatest spiritual darkness ever to fill the earth.

The hour in which we now are living is the beginning of the coming to maturity of Christ, the Light, in His people. The spiritual darkness has begun already and will increase until the Lord Jesus returns.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:4,5)

Human beings have created the Christian religion. It has its buildings, its teachings, and its liturgies. None of these can overcomes the darkness that is approaching. They have served their purpose. Now it is time for God to reveal what He has had in mind all alongthe forming of Christ, the Light, in God's people.

Some of the believers will reveal the Divine Light to a thirty-fold extent. Some to a sixty-fold extent. Some to a hundred-fold extent. The degree to which any believers shows the Light of Christ depends on his or her willingness to be pruned.

The purpose of the pruning is to remove from the believer that which is not of the Life, the Light of Christ. It is the Life of Christ that is the eternal Light from God.

The raising of Lazarus is a picture of the pruning, or winnowing, that is to take place so the Light, Christ, can be revealed.

Jesus called forth Lazarus from the cave. Lazarus came forth, but he was bound with graveclothes.

This is a picture of you and me. We have been called forth from spiritual death by Him who is the Resurrection and the Life. But we are bound with graveclothes.

Notice that the Lord Jesus told people standing by to unwind the graveclothes from Lazarus. So it is that Jesus commands people to unwind the graveclothes from us so His Glory that is in us can be seen in our godly behavior.

People say and do things that cause us to react. That is because there is spiritual darkness in us. We are not to become angry with the people that hurt us. We are to go to Christ to find out what it is in us that causes us to react so violently.

When Jesus points out to us the darkness in us that reacts against the removal of the graveclothes from we are to confess that darkness specifically. It is not of the image of God.

Once we know about the spiritual death that is in us we are to confess it specifically and clearly. Then we are to tell Jesus we never want that spirit to be a part of us for eternity. We denounce and renounce it as being evil.

Then Jesus answers our prayer and we are free from this bondage that has been obscuring the Light of Christ. New Life from Jesus grows in us bringing light to other people concerning God, His will, His way, and His eternal purpose in Christ.

You may think of this removal of darkness from us as pruning, or winnowing. The Lord tosses us into the air and the wind of circumstances blows on us. The chaff is blown away and the pure grain is revealed.

In our day, God is looking for those who will submit to total pruning, total winnowing, so the Light which is Christ may appear in enough power to overcome all the power of Hell.

The following passage from the Gospel of John portrays the travail that will bring forth the fullness of the Light:

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:21,22)

A parallel passage from John says the same thing:

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (John 14:20)

The Lord Jesus has been with us all these years. Now He wants to greatly increase and bring to maturity that which is being formed in us. As His Divine Nature is formed in us, He Himself shall come with His Father and dwell in us for eternity. This is the spiritual fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Tabernacles.

It is necessary that the fullness of the Divine Light enter us in the days to come, for the world will be filled with an unprecedented spiritual darkness. The "morning" of Divine Light is approaching, but also the "night" of Satan's final presence in the earth.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

The growth of the Life, the Light of Christ in us, results in righteous behavior that the world can see. It will cause people to praise God. This will become increasingly important as we approach the return of Christ to the earth.

As far as organized religion is concerned, I believe the Christian institutions of the world will come together as one worldwide babylon, with its headquarters at the ancient site of Babylon, in Iraq. Babylon is the murderer of God's true people, and there is no light in her.

Because of the forces of evil that shall cover the earth in the coming days, our traditional church services will not be spiritually powerful enough to resist the powers of darkness. The only believers who will be able to stand are those who have been pruned by the Lord until the Presence of Christ in them is strong enough to conquer the darkness. They shall help their loved ones and other people to survive the presence of Satan and his demons.

Isaiah tells us of the fullness of light that will overcome the fullness of darkness. The stated goal of the Christian institutions of our day is to evangelize the world. However, it is not God's time to evangelize the world. Before the world can properly be evangelized, the Christian people must become one in Christ in God. Only then will the world believe.

That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21)

I am not saying that there are not people today who are called to the mission field. There certainly are. But the spread of the Kingdom of God throughout the world will come exactly as Isaiah has prophesied. Until that time the emphasis should be upon bringing God's people to maturity so that the Light of Christ will be revealed in us.

When Christ is lifted up in us, as we submit to the crucifixion of our self-life, then all people will be drawn to the Lord Jesus whom they behold in us. He is the Light of the world; and when He comes to maturity in us, then we shall be the light of the world.

Notice the power of the revival that shall occur as Christ is glorified in His saints:

Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm (Isaiah 60:4)

When the saints come to maturity in Christ, and His Light is seen in them, then all the nations will come to them. Actually, the people are not coming to us but to Christ who is in us, and God in Him.

Notice the expressions "your sons" and "your daughters." You know, ministers speak today of how wonderful it will be when we go to Heaven. There is something more wonderful than Heavenit is that of inheriting sons and daughters.

God has given our Lord Jesus the nations and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. We are co-heirs with Jesus. Therefore our inheritance is not only Heaven but the nations and the uttermost parts of the earth.

Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. (Isaiah 60:5)

The Lord has promised us fullness of joy and pleasures forever. Our joy is found in the preceding verse. Material wealth may be included here; but it is the people we shall inherit who will bring us everlasting peace and joy.

Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? (Isaiah 60:8)

The above verse and the following verses indicate that the time when we are filled with the fullness of the Divine Glory is that of Jesus' return. We shall return with Him and be as clouds of people returning to the earth including God's saints from the beginning of the world.

Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. (Isaiah 60:10)

While the verse above refers to the new earth, I believe it will be true also during the Kingdom Age, that is, the thousand-year period that begins with the return of Jesus to the earth and finishes at the final resurrection and judgment.

The idea of God striking us and then showing compassion and healing us appears several times in the Old Testament. This is the pruning I spoke of previously. There also is, as I stated previously, a winnowing as God "throws us into the air," so to speak, that the chaff may be blown away and only the Light of Christ can be seen.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:12)

I believe God's people need to be armed with a mind to suffer. We are going to be pruned severely so that the Light of Christ in us can overcome the darkness.

I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. (Isaiah 12:1)

Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. (Hosea 6:1)

The New Testament informs us that God chastens every son he receives that we may be partakers of His holiness.

If we abide in Christ we will bear fruit, the fruit that is His likeness. Then we will be pruned so we bear more fruit. Finally, we will be pruned for a second time so we will bear much fruit. "Much fruit" refers to the fullness of the Light which is Christ shining from us.

God is making us, male and female, in His image. We are to be fruitful in bearing the image of God. Then we are to multiply that image. In this way we gain dominion over the darkness.

We are a month away from a presidential election. People are hoping that whoever is elected will bring us peace and prosperity.

Because of abortion on demand, the worship of sexual activity and of money, the driving of Jesus and the Bible from our land, we will not enjoy peace and prosperity no matter who is elected. God never has and never shall bless a nation that kills its offspring, engages in immorality, and ignores the Lord Jesus and the Bible. It shall not happen no matter how people may scheme.

So each of us has a choice, don't we. We can choose to be a child of the Light or a child of the darkness. If we are a child of the Light we will run to the Light, as Jesus said, that our works may be seen to be of God.

If we are a child of the darkness, we will avoid the Light because our deeds are evil.

If we are a child of the Light we will stand and help others to stand during the moral and physical chaos that are approaching our country.

If we are a child of the darkness we will become increasingly deceived until we are participating in all the murderous works of Satan.

To be a child of the Light we must be looking to the Lord Jesus at all times and in every circumstance during each day and night. If we do not continually look to the Lord Jesus, the darkness will crowd in on us.

The forces that are descending to the earth in the present hour are stronger than the good intentions of Christian people. It is God against Satan. Christ against Antichrist. The Holy Spirit against the False Prophet. You and I are as so much dust. We have no power of our own. We must be filled with Christ if we are to stand in righteousness.

Now is the time to keep looking to Jesus until we are filled with His Life, which is Divine Light. We must pray every day and read our Bible every day. We must listen to the Spirit as He points out the darkness that is in us. Then we are to confess our sinful behavior and ask Jesus to help us never to behave like that againfor eternity!

We must not waste the present time in the foolishness of the world. God has given us these few days to prepare ourselves.

God is looking for people who will shine with His Glory in the darkest of nights. They will be rulers in the ages to come. But those believers who waste their time and neglect their Kingdom talents will have a miserable future.

Let's you and I be children of the Light so we can be part of Christ and God forever.

You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. (I Thessalonians 5:5)

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:4,5)